Defense chief is killed as jihadis and rebels seize towns and military bases in Mali

DAKAR, Senegal — Mali's defense minister was killed in a sweeping attack by jihadis and rebels who seized several towns and military bases, authorities said Sunday, the latest violence in the junta-run country that has long battled militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group as well as a separatist rebellion in the north

DAKAR, Senegal — Mali's defense minister was killed in a sweeping attack by jihadis and rebels who seized several towns and military bases, authorities said Sunday, the latest violence in the junta-run country that has long battled militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group as well as a separatist rebellion in the north.

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The Malian government confirmed the death of the defense chief, Gen. Sadio Camara, in a post on the defense ministry’s Facebook page, and expressed its condolences to his family. State-run television also broadcast the announcement of his death by spokesman Gen. Issa Ousmane Coulibaly.

Mali was struck on Saturday by one of the biggest coordinated attacks on its army in the capital, Bamako, and several other cities and towns in an assault that also challenged Mali’s security partner, Russia, which has forces on the ground in the West African country.